Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $10.18 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,252 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,948 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $626,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,108,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $126.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.67. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.